Apparatus for coldwelding metal parts together



Feb. 2, 1960 K. F. JOHNSON 2,923,183 APPARATUS FOR comwmnmc METAL PARTS TOGETHER k Filed Nov. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' &.6 g 393/ 36 40 46 75 7/ mmsvvrae K/Z/OH/KSU/V Feb. 2, 1960 K. F. JOHNSON 2,923,183 APPARATUS FOR cowwmomc METAL PARTS TOGETHER Filed Nov. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 was 1 Y United States Patent. if

APPARATUS FOR COLDWELDING METAL PARTS TOGETHER Kenneth F. Johnson, Cicero, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application November 8, 1955, Serial No. 545,752

2 Claims. (Cl. 78-82) This invention relates to apparatus for coldwelding metal parts together, and more particularly to apparatus for coldwelding ends of aluminum wire together.

In coldwelding the ends of wires together for continuously operable, high speed machines for processing wire, such as, for example, machines for covering the wires, it is essential to rapidly splice wires from full reels to trailing ends of the wires of exhausted reels without interrupting the operation of the machine. One device for rapidly effecting such welds is disclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No. 397,561, filed December 11, 1953, by K. F. Johnson-H. G. Kohr for Apparatus for Coldwelding' Metal Parts Together, now abandoned. However, for certain operations, it is desirable to be able to load and unload this device more rapidly than has been possible hitherto.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for coldwelding metal parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for coldwelding the ends of aluminum wires together.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for rapidly coldwelding the ends of aluminum wires together to make high tensile strength welds without impairing the strength of the portions of the wires adjacent to the welds.

In an apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention, two pairs of wire clamps are provided, the pairs being movable relative to the other between open or retracted positions and closed or welding positions. Means are provided for automatically opening the pairs of jaws when they are in their retracted positions and closing the jaws when the pairs of jaws leave their retracted positions.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 disclosing the jaws in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 disclosing the jaws in closed position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along line 66 showing in detail the cooperating elements of the jaw and a holder apparatus.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown a hand tool for forcing ends of wires 10 and 11 together to swage, coldweld or buttweld the wires together. The tool includes levers 12 and 13 secured pivotally together by a pin 14 and carrying pins 15, 16, 17 and 18 rigidly thereon. Arms 21 and 22 rigidly secured to jawholders 23 and 24 are mounted rotatably on the pins and 16 and have slots 25 and 26 into which the pins 18 ice I and 17 project. When the levers l2 and 13 are opened,

' ternal frusto-conical guiding surfaces 3-1 and 32 and external cam surfaces 33 and 34 along which slide follower cams 35 and 36 secured to grooved jaws 37 and 38 by pins 39 and 40. The jaws 37 and 38 are provided with outer frusto-conical surfaces that engage and cooperate with the internal frusto-conical surfaces of the jaw hold-- ers. The pins 39 and 40 are slidable laterally thereof in slots 41 and 42. The jaw-holders 23 and 24 also have slots 43 and 44 to permit removal of welded wires.

The jaws 37 and 38 are urged toward closed positions by springs 45 and 46 seated in sockets 47 in flanges 49 of the jaws and sockets 5 1 in jaw-holders 23 and 24. Interposed springs 45 and 46 tend to move the flanges 49 from the respective jaw-holders 23 and 24 and thus move each pair -'of jaws 37 and 38 toward the closed position. An

- arm 61 is secured adjustably in a groove 62 in jaw-holder 23 by screws 63 projecting through a slot 64 in arm 61. A notched stop plate 65 carrying ball bearings 66, is integrally formed on or is secured rigidly to arm 61 and is slidable along an arm 71 (see Fig. 5) similar to-the I arm 61 andsecured adjustably to jaw-holder 24. Arm

71 has integrally formed thereon or attached thereto a notched stop plate, 75 carrying ball bearings 76 and is slidable on arm 61. The arm 61 serves to guide jawholder 24 and hold it aligned with jaw-holder 23, and arm 71 similarly guides jaw-holder 23. The springs are just strong enough to cause roughened surfaces of grooves 81 to hold the wires against slipping during the welding, but do not prevent slipping of the wires when the wires tend to pull the jaws open as the jaw-holders are moved apart. Jaw guides 82 are secured to the jaw holders.

Operation With handles 12 and 13 open, jaws 37 are engaged by balls 76 and pushed to the right in jaw-holder 23. The follower cams 35 through the agency of pins 39 hold jaws 37 apart so wire 10 can be inserted therethrough. Similarly, stop 65 pushes jaws 38 to compress the springs 46 and the follower cams 36 thruogh the agency of pins 40 open jaws 38 for loading wire 11 therein. The wires are inserted and the handles are closed to simultaneously move jaw holders 23 and 24 toward each other and the stop plates 65 and 75 away from each other whereupon the springs 45 and 46 will hold the flanges 49 of the jaw members against the balls 76 and 66. Surfaces 31 and. 32 of jaw members 23 and 24 thereupon react on frusto conical surfaces of the jaws 31 and 38 to close the jaws on the wires and hold the wires in alignment.

Upon further movement of the levers 12 and 13 toward each other, the jaw holders 23 and 24 and the jaws 37 and 38 advance as two units toward each other to swage together the ends of the wires. The handles then are opened, which moves the flanges 49 of jaws 37 and 38 against the bearings 76 and '66 and holds the jaws 37 and 38 against further longitudinal movement with the jaw-holders 23 and 24. The further advance of the jaw-holders cause the follower cams 35 and 36 to ride up on the surfaces 33 and 34 to slide the jaws later ally from engagement with the swaged wire. The welded wires then may be moved laterally out of the jaws, and the operation described above may be repeated.

The above-described apparatus may be used as a plierlike tool or may be mounted on a standard or the like. The arms 61 and 71 may be adjusted to positions in which one pair of the jaws closes before the other pair of jaws so that one wire may be held firmly by the earlier closed Patented Feb. 2, 1960' jaws While the second wire is inserted into the still open pair of jaws.

Certain features of the above-described tool are disclosed and claimed in above-mentioned copending application Serial No. 397,5..6land copending application Serial .No. 545,650,,filedNov. 8, 1955, by K. F. Johnson for ,Apparatus for Coldwe'lding Metal Parts Together.

It is to be understood-that the above-describedarrangements are simply illustrative 'of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An actuatingmechanism 'foropposing pairs of stockgripping jaws having lateral projections, said jaws having conical externalsurfacfes tapering to cylindrical surfaces adjoining the lateral projections, comprising a pair ofmovable holders havingopenings therein complemenjaws have external conical surfaces, which comprises a pair of plier-like levers, a jaw-holder carried by one lever,

tarily andslidably receiving the pairssof jaws in opposed relation, said holders having external cam surfaces and lateral pin slots extending inwardly therefrom, cam followers engaging said cam surfaces, pins rigidly connecting said followers to the jaws through the .pin slots in the holder, jaw-stops individually mounted on respective holders and in sliding engagement with each other to actuate the jaws in the opposing holder, pivotally interconnected levers individually ,and pivotally connected to respective holders, and resilient means mounted between thelateral jaw projections and the jaw stops.

2. An actuating mechanism for a stockrgripping mechanism having opposing pairs of jaws whereinsaid a first actuating means urging, a pair of jaws toward closed positions, a second jaw-holder carried by the other lever, said jaw holders having conical internal surfaces in sliding engagement with the respective external conical jaw surfaces and having slotted external cam surfaces parallel to sliding conical surfaces, cam followers in contact with the respective external cam surfaces of the holders and rigidly connected to the jaws through the slots in the" holders, a second actuating means urging a second pair of jaws toward closed positions, a stop carried by the first jaw-holder for actuating the second actuating means as the levers are opened, and a second stop carried by the second jaw-holder for actuating the first actuating means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FQREIGN PATENTS 1,075,750 France Apr. :14, .1954 

